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Computer glitch causes confusion for thousands of Covered California applicants
A specialist helps people select insurance plans at the free Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fair in Pasadena, California. On Thursday Covered California said a computer glitch caused it to send confusing, inaccurate letters to more than 100,000 insurance applicants.
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Computer glitch causes confusion for thousands of Covered California applicants
Covered California is working to correct a computer glitch that caused it to mail confusing, inaccurate notifications to nearly 114,000 people who’ve applied for coverage through the state-run health insurance marketplace.
In some cases, where the letters should have contained key information, there were blank spaces. For example, some letters informed applicants that they were eligible for coverage through Covered California, but had a blank space where they were supposed to say what the applicant was ineligible for.
In other cases the letters were missing the amount of tax credits an applicant qualified for. Covered California spokeswoman Anne Gonzales admits the letters caused confusion.
"We’re now in the process of fixing that technical problem, and after that fix we’re going to be sending out corrected notices," Gonzales said.
Gonzales could not say exactly how long it will take to get those corrected letters out to everyone.
She acknowledged that too long of a delay could make it difficult for some people to finalize their applications in time to meet Monday’s deadline for enrolling in plans that take effect January first.
Gonzales said people should go online, call Covered California, or contact the agent who helped them sign up to check the status of their applications.
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